8th April: The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched on 8th April 2015 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with the aim to facilitate easy collateral-free micro credit of up to ₹10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro entrepreneurs for income generating activities. The loans under PMMY are provided by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and other financial intermediaries.Upon marking successful 8th anniversary of the PMMY, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Brought under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the scheme has enabled easy and hassle-free access to credit to micro-enterprises and has helped a large number of young entrepreneurs establish their businesses.”In reference to the PMMY data, Smt. Sitharaman said, “Since the launch of the scheme, as of 24.03.2023, about ₹23.2 lakh crore has been sanctioned in 40.82 crore loan accounts. About 68% of accounts under the scheme belong to women entrepreneurs and 51% of accounts belong to entrepreneurs of SC/ST and OBC categories. This demonstrates that easy availability of credit to the budding entrepreneurs of the country has led to innovation and sustained increase in per capita income.”Highlighting indigenous growth through MSMEs, the Finance Minister said, “The growth of MSMEs has contributed massively to the “Make in India” programme as strong domestic MSMEs lead to increased indigenous production both for domestic markets as well as for exports. The PMMY scheme has helped in the generation of large-scale employment opportunities at the grassroots level and also has proved to be a game changer while boosting the Indian economy.”On the occasion, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad said, “The PMMY scheme aims to provide collateral free access to credit in a seamless manner to micro enterprises in the country. It has brought the unserved and under-served sections of the society within the framework of institutional credit. The government policy of promoting MUDRA has led millions of MSME enterprises in the formal economy and has helped them to get out of the clutches of money-lenders offering very high cost funds.”As we celebrate the 8th anniversary of providing financial inclusion through the pillars of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), let us glance through some of the major features and achievements of the Scheme:The implementation of financial inclusion programme in the country is based on three pillars, namely,Banking the UnbankedSecuring the Unsecured andFunding the UnfundedThese aforesaid three objectives are being achieved through leveraging technology and adopting multi-stakeholders’ collaborative approach, while serving the unserved and underserved as well.One of the three pillars of FI – Funding the Unfunded, is reflected in the Financial Inclusion ecosystem through PMMY, which is being implemented with the objective to provide access to credit for small entrepreneurs.Features
